#hes absolutely killing it with this server and this is only the beginning

[impostersyndromee]

me too bitch, me too

[myhamartiaishubris]

Ben Hargreeves is the worst written best character and I can prove it

This is a poorly organized meta/essay about my baby boy who got massacred. Originally posted in the discord server so some of y'all have seen it already.

Let me be clear: this is a love letter to my favourite Hargreeves boy. I could write him better. I could fix him (narratively).

Here's why Ben is a great character who, paradoxically, was very badly written.

Umbrella Ben

Listen. Listen to me. Ben Hargreeves was, from the moment I saw him, my absolute favourite character. He's already dead? Doomed by the narrative before the narrative even begins? Also, an East Asian character in the year of our Lord 2018?? I was on board. And Brelly Ben gets a lot of good moments! You know that scene where Klaus is in the motel closet, tied up, and Ben says something like, "How does it feel being helpless? This is how I feel, watching my brother piss his life away." Um, hello?? That's such a delicious line.

Because up until this point Ben's been kind of quiet, in that dead broody way, or we saw his young self being soft and reluctant. But suddenly we realize, oh, Ben isn't nice. In fact, he's kind of nasty to his addict brother, and you get this kernel of a glimpse into his character. This is a character who might have been soft-spoken in life, but death and the years since have shredded him down to all his razor edges. He's still that bookish little Ben, except he's not little and he's frustrated, angry, traumatized, and in pain.

And season 2 builds on this! He's willing to violate Klaus's personal boundaries just for a taste of life again. Holy shit that's so delicious. My problem is that, especially in season 2, this isn't explored nearly as much as it could be. Ben's possession shenanigans are mostly played for comedy, when in fact we could be delving into the implications of Ben's character and his relationship with Klaus. You have this character who's kind, who (from what we know so far) represented the "good" of the academy, who loves his brother so so hard and it hurts him so bad to see Klaus hit rock bottom every time. The little "I missed you guys" in season 2? Devastating. And yet despite his goodness he is capable of being a bad person, and he repeatedly hurts those around him (namely Klaus).

So surely this is part of his arc, right? This is going to be explored and resolved. Right?

The Season 2 Ending

So the thing is, I didn't immediately hate the way they had Ben move on / die to save Viktor. I was sad to see my favourite character go, but also excited to see where the writers would take that storyline. Because, obviously, it wasn't over. Right? Obviously Ben's arc isn't finished, he hasn't resolved his frustrations, his complicated relationship with Klaus is never fully untangled, plus the rest of the family never get a moment of real closure with him (except maybe Diego). So clearly, it wasn't over. Right?

Well, in light of season 4, I can confidently come back and say that killing Brelly Ben off here was a stupidass decision.

And here's why: you've effectively splintered his arc in half. Starting from season 3, Ben is an entirely different character, with an entirely different arc that needs to be built from the ground up. While everyone else gets 4 seasons of development, Ben only gets 2, both times. And I'm so not over the fact that his arc isn't over. We saw Ben do some reprehensible shit to Klaus, especially in season 2 with all that possession shit! And we just. Never hear from him again? That's bullshit.

But anyway, since we're here, let's make peace with being here. Hey, Justin H Min is still playing a version of Ben, and he seems interesting, if way different! Surely this will have some interesting implications.

Sparrow Ben

Oh god, Sparrow Ben. In terms of Ben's character writing, season 3 is... fine. Like I said, it suffers from effectively fracturing his arc in half and having to start over, and this isn't the complicated, kind but frustrated and prickly ghost Ben I originally fell in love with. But ok, I do like Justin, and EA rep is still a win to me, so let's go with the flow.

For the most part, season 3 does a solid job. We get some solid beats relating to Ben's ambition and inferiority complex being Number 2. There's a bit of overacting on Justin's part, but hey, that's camp. (I think. I have no idea if I'm using that word right. Am I hip with the kids?)

I really, really loved Ben's moment with Sloane as she's getting married, because it highlights the core of this Ben's character: someone who desperately yearns for family but has forced himself to be all hard shell and soldier. In a way, he's the other end of Brelly Ben's spectrum. (Like forsterite and fayalite - all Mg on one end, Fe on the other.) How much of this Ben is family softness, how much of it is defense mechanism and lashing out?

And then of course - the thing I've been craving so badly - the in-universe comparison to Brelly Ben. This was done... underwhelmingly, if I'm honest. I liked that Ben had a moment of crisis where he couldn't live up to the Umbrellas' dead version of himself, and his moment with Klaus was nice, but in light of season 4 it becomes clear that we could have had more. I wanted him to have an entire arc about it - after all, it's a pretty significant aspect of your character to be "the worse version of yourself from another timeline." (Refer to @vyther16's Gongye Jiwu fic.) I feel like there's a lot of meta you could pull from that, about how your siblings who aren't your siblings look at you and see someone different. Someone you won't be. Someone you can't be, even if you tried, so why bother trying? And they really don't dig through that at all, which is disappointing.

The tentacle samurai fight is badass, though.

Season 4

Oh buddy oh boy. There's so much dumpster fire here, but I'll start with the season 3 loose ends and then move on to season 4's own problems.

1) Sloane. Luther picks Ben up from prison, so I thought they might have an interesting bonding moment over Sloane - after all, they're the two people who cared most about her. But actually no, apparently Ben doesn't give a shit about the one real sister he actually had left at the end of s3.

2) The subway thing. Wasn't he in Korea? My grasping-at-straws ass truly thought that might have been Brelly Ben in the reset timeline, and we'd get a Ben-Ben confrontation or a battle in the minds thing. But I guess that doesn't matter.

3) The Jennifer Incident. So we all know that everyone forgetting about an incident they explicitly reference is stupid, right? Especially because the name Jennifer only exists because they reference it in s3. Ben obsessively draws Jennifer, and then he doesn't recognize or know her? Kill me.

The continuation of his arc is also just sloppy, if it even exists. No more identity crisis about being the worse Ben, no more secret yearning for family or inferiority complex about being a good soldier. Suddenly his arc amounts to, uh, being an asshole and getting hit with sex pollen so powerful it ends the world.

And look, there is a world where Sparrow Ben spiking everyone with marigold could parallel with Brelly Ben's consent problems with Klaus. There is a world where Sparrow Ben dying because of Jennifer could echo Brelly Ben's death in a haunting, tragic, destined kind of way.

But, uh, none of that happens. Here we are, finally getting a Ben-centric season, and it's this. Being relegated to a plot device in your own season. Looking back and realizing that you were always the plot device, even in season 2. Carrying all that tragedy in your little ghost body and being treated like Chekov's waterlogged gun.

And I can't help but look back at season 1, Klaus trying so desperately to prove Ben's existence, and contrast it with the literal next season where a single throwaway line from Klaus sidelines Ben for a whole season. And then he dies. And he dies again.

Fucking hell.

It feels like I'm being made a fool of. Oh, you cared about this East Asian character? You wanted him to have narrative weight and character presence instead of being a plot device for the benefit of his White brothers? Idiot.

Because you'll still be here anyway, right? You'll grasp onto your crumbs for a cool EA character, you'll let us run a character through a trash compactor and keep pretending he's a good character because you latched onto this one East Asian protagonist and you don't want to admit that maybe you should have let go years before.

[sunny-mercya]

Of Nightmarish Phobias

Poly! Billy Loomis & Stu Macher x Male Reader

Fandom -> Scream 1996

Requested by -> Anon

Masterlist

Ever since the dreadful accident, sleep—something which wouldn't come easily anymore—had been deprived from the three of you, leaving you all sluggish to move through the day.

Stu would be the first one to wake up—even though he's more of a heavyweight sleeper, sleeping till late afternoon if no one would wake him up—and being a sprawler, his lanky long limps like a starfish hitting his two boyfriends every now and then, he could easily bring you into a koala hug like headlock.

Like mention before, Stu sleeps heavily—sunken so deep into the dreamland and in the comforts of bed, that he wouldn't even notice if the sky would shatter down onto earth.

Though now, besides Billy's rough way of waking him up—a slap to his thighs—the slightest hectic movement from you would bring him to a point of rise.

Turning onto his sides, towards you, Stu moves you into his arms. Holding you tight to

Where while Billy, who could sleep just as deep if wanted to—but didn't, liked to be on natural guard—would occasionally wake up on his own, checking up on you and taking a toilet break.

Billy was more the rational—doesn't mean he hadn't a soft side—person of comfort and Stu—who could be just as mean if needed—the one for emotional support. They're both their counterparts and at the same time they completed one another—like missing puzzles or Yin and Yang.

In all this you're the pull of glue which hold them both together. From the beginning of your relationship, you had giving them nothing but unconditional warm comfort of love, making sure they're happy and satisfied.

Though after the accident it all had changed and now it was their turn to shower you in unconditional love and support.

Simply because they adored you just as much as you do them and because you're their driving force—the sole motivation of reasons—why they decided to do what they do; delightful killing.

~~~

Stu groaned in pain, doubling over into a fetal position as your hand collided with his stomach in full force again. Sure, you had lost some strength in your muscles—on practically terrible days couldn't even stand on your own without having help or an aid—but you still were able to give a few good hits.

Whatever dream it was this time, it made your hand hitting down on repeat—like a cat would do when trying to catch a toy.

Another groan from Stu, had you hit his side this time. Should he try and wrap you into a blanket hug again or wake Billy up?

He couldn't tell how server your nightmare is this night. If it's just a common one—he really doesn't know the different types of nightmares and their names and neither does Billy, so they decided to give them their own ranks, for a more easily weighting out of options and methods to use against you—or one of the terrific ones.

The ranks of Nightmares goes like this; A common one means, letting you it trashing it out. Mid ones, wrapping you up into a blanket or tight hug. Terrible ones, waking you up. Terrific ones—where you're in a sense awake at the same time and giving yourself also a panic attack at the same time, without realising—would mean injecting you with a sedative.

More than often they had to use the Sedative during Common or terrible ones too.

Which they shouldn't, as the doctor said not to and only when absolutely necessary needed—the sedative was quite strong, making you sleep through a whole day and brings your mind into a state of fuzzy haze when awake again, that it turns you vulnerable and incoherent.

But when you're so immersed into your panic, they had no other options at hand, then to inject it into your blood.

»Fuck.« Billy cursed out loud when your hand landed onto his stomach, full force. Stu stifles a chuckle—serves you right, he thought, if I have to suffer so does you.

Billy sats up, blankets dropping down from him, turning his head to his boyfriends and squinting into the darkness a bit.

»Shut up Stu. Next time you wake me beforehand, when [Name] starts to trash around like this.« grumbled Billy, hissing shortly after when his thigh got slapped.

Christ, could you hit hard when unintentionally wanted to.

»Nah, make me«

»C'mon big guy, let's go to the couch to get at least some sleep.«

~~~

A few hours later, in the early mornings, your screaming woke Billy and Stu up. Like cold water being dumped on them, they tumbled from the couch and onto the floor.

Wide awake now, on full guard—you screaming was never a good thing—and ready to strike an attack to whatever intruder might have come, they untangled them from each other limps.

Bolting with quick steps back into the bedroom, switching the lights on and discovering you.

Sitting on the ground, against the nightstand. Head in hands, gripping your hair tightly—pulling at it—trembling uncontrollably in shivers.

»Baby, what's wrong?« asked Billy, voice soft and in a audible whisper. Slowly approaching you with Stu, crouching down and stretching his hand out into your view.

»He's here. He's here. He's here.« you chanted it like a mantra, rocking back and forth.

»Who's here, darling?«

»Dylan! He's here! He's back! He will hurt me again!« your head whipped up, looking at Billy with a wide fear filled face. Tears already flowing from you eyes as you pointed with a shaking finger at the wardrobe.

»Baby, baby, he isn't here, believe me.« said Stu, leaning against the wall. They know Dylan isn't here, have killed him after all to ensure your safety.

»Yes he is!« jumping up, pushing Billy and Stu aside and going to the wardrobe, you opened it wide—searching through the clothes.

You shirked in utterly disbelief. He was here, you're sure of it. You have saw him just mere minutes ago, when you woke up—saw his face looking down at you and the grin he had giving you.

It's a tragic and also a daily sight for them to see you so distressed in panic. How you destroyed yourself mentally further, with the slow rise of losing reality and growing into a paranoia.

»Nononononono« a hiccup left your lips, kneeling down, gripping your hair again and hitting your head against the floor. Mumbling incoherent words, messy nonsense things.

»Stu, get the Syringe« Billy pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling deeply. That's the third time in a row now, that they had to use the sedative. Thought they had no other choice or you would've injured yourself in your panicking state of hysteria more.

At this point they probably overdosing you with the chemical drug of calm, but what other choice had they? Sending you into therapy and they, the therapist signed you off into a mental institution? No chance.

Billy goes to you, heaving you up into his arms and moving you towards the bed. Sitting you and himself down onto the mattress, prying your hands from your head.

~~~

When Stu came back in, syringe in hand, Billy had managed to calm you down significantly, looking just a tad exhausted.

Billys grip around your body tightens, knowing well what was about to come next.

Once you took notice of the syringe in Stu's hand and the apologetic look he wore, you winced visibly in Billy arms.

You hated every type of needles. The sharp point brought a sense of pain filled imaginations. How it stabs into your skin, piercing a hole into it and either sucking your blood or letting it flow out.

Needles are a tool of something sinister.

Billy had pinned you down onto the mattress, hovering over you and this was the only cruel thing they had do to you—reminding you of the night when Dylan had hovered over you, grinning down, licking his lips in lust when he stabbed the scissors into you—so Billy lets you trash as much as you wanted.

»Let me go! Let me go! Nonono no. LET ME GO!« you screamed, trying to headbutt Billy, trying to free yourself.

You don't want the needle be pierced into your skin again, has it enough tiny disgusting holes already.

Stu joined, taking a seat next to you. Taking your arm from Billys grip, he injected the syringe into your skin.

While the drugs take their time to flow into your system, Billy and Stu had both engulfed you into their arms. Caressing you and whispering sweet nothings into your ear, till you're completely numb of panic—drowsy and calm.

»Goodnight, love«

[antianakin]

Pong Krell. It’s universally agreed that he deserved worse than what he got and I get that. I just wished we got to see what he was like before he Fell. Did he always hate clones, was it gradual? Did he suspect something off and went over paranoid?

I’ll say this one and I’ll say this probably a thousand more times but I wished the creators focused on more details with characters. It’s absolutely fascinating that they created a Jedi that Fell but did nothing with it besides outright evil.

How other Jedi reacted to learning that a fellow Jedi betrayed everyone? How did the Republic?

I just wished they did more with him than just, yeah that dude was a dick and killed clones.

Yeah, it's one of the things I don't like as much about TCW, the extremely episodic nature of it means that there really is never any build-up to anything or lasting impact from anything. Unless it's happening within one of the 2-4 episode arcs, we RARELY get to see any kind of build-up or fallout. It's one of the major issues with Barriss, too, we see her ONCE in season 2 and she's calm, kind, methodical, and selfless. And then three seasons later in season 5 she's suddenly ruthless, selfish, doubting everything and everyone, merciless, etc. There is NO BUILD UP to that radical 180 to her character and there's no real exploration of how Ahsoka really feels about that particular betrayal afterwards, the focus in later episodes after the Wrong Jedi focuses only on Ahsoka feeling betrayed by the COUNCIL and her feelings about that. Nothing since TCW has ever touched it either (Rebels, Mandalorian, the Ahsoka show). Satine's death never really comes up again after it happens aside from Bo-Katan being an asshole. Obi-Wan goes from being totally fucked up about Maul coming back to being chill enough to take on Maul and Savage alone and winning without us getting to see him actually deal with those emotions.

Pong Krell and the Umbara arc IN GENERAL falls into this category easily (so do the Zyggeria and the Deception arc tbh). Krell is such a basic evil character, there's so little nuance to him and we never get to see the Jedi react to the revelation that one of their own turned at all. Dooku turned after he had already left the Order as far as any of them really know, but Krell was still IN the Order when he decided to betray them and it would've been really interesting to see the impact of that on them. It would've been ESPECIALLY interesting to explore that more during the Wrong Jedi arc in particular in how the Jedi feel like they can't trust their own people not to betray them anymore after Dooku and Krell.

Krell is presented with like. Zero nuance. He is just unequivocally evil and despite Anakin greeting him in a friendly way at the beginning, the visuals tell you this dude's no good right from his first appearance. There isn't really any chance that he's going to be a good guy at all. So all we are left with are headcanons.

And I remember discussing my Krell headcanons somewhere, but I think it might've been on a Discord server I've since left, so I unfortunately cannot find them again. So I'll try to remember them and immortalize them here, I guess.

Here's the thing about Krell. NO ONE suspects him. So he cannot be overtly acting like a bigoted asshole from the jump at any point, he HAS to be acting in such a way that it's not trickling out to the other clones and to the Jedi themselves that Krell is an absolute monster. Even Fives takes a moment to decide that Krell is suspicious and only brings up Krell's casualty numbers after he sees Krell's behavior for a minute and combines that knowledge with what he's now personally experiencing and is starting to come to conclusions based on that. He doesn't go into the relationship thinking Krell is worse than any other Jedi already.

And based on what we know of EVERY OTHER FALLEN JEDI (Dooku, Anakin, Barriss), they didn't start out as monsters. Dooku was a highly respected Jedi Master who seems to have had a really positive relationship with Yoda and Qui-Gon and simply became disillusioned with the Senate and his care for the people of the galaxy got twisted into something darker over time. Barriss was kind, selfless, compassionate, brave, and resourceful, and it was the war that caused her to start letting her fears and pain consume her into turning on the Jedi. Anakin was kind and spent years having his fears and doubts twisted into selfishness and greed and darkness that allowed him to justify murder and genocide for power. So it wouldn't make sense to me that Pong Krell wouldn't fall into the same pattern where he was once kind and good and selfless and brave, but that the circumstances surrounding the war caused him to lose faith and fall.

My headcanon is that he lost an entire battalion early in the war, much like we see happen to Plo Koon during the Malevolence arc and that that loss and failure just BROKE him. Krell DID care about the clones, he cared about his men, and he FAILED them all. And I think that he saw all of these clones dying by the dozens in all of the other battalions and instead of choosing to let go of his pain and fear and lean into his compassion, he chose to distance himself from them entirely to make it hurt less. If he didn't care about the clones, if he just saw them as the cannon fodder that the Senate treated them all as, then it would hurt less when they died. Maybe the Senate itself even dragged him over the coals for that initial loss. Or perhaps it was the opposite, maybe most of his battalion was killed, but it ultimately ended in a victory anyway because they were forced to just keep going despite the consequences. And so Krell decides to enter this mindset where he is disillusioned with the Senate and just CANNOT allow himself to care about the clones, because it won't change what the Senate is going to do to them anyway, so he may as well just treat them the same way.

And this wouldn't have happened overnight. It wouldn't have been a sudden 180 where he decided he was just going to treat them like shit. But he maybe decided to put some more professional distance between himself and his new battalion, not get close to them, not use their names (although he still knows them, still remembers them all). Maybe one day they're in a tricky situation and all of his options are bad, he HAS to sacrifice some of his men in order to salvage the situation at all, and it's a choice between a full retreat that he KNOWS the Senate won't take well, or sacrificing the men to achieve the victory. So he sacrifices the men. It's not an entire battalion, it's not even a whole company, but it's more than it would've been if he'd retreated. Maybe next time, there's a choice between going back to save some of the men even if it poses a risk to his own life or the mission or something, and he chooses not to go back for them because the mission is more important, or he rationalizes that his life is more important as the Jedi General. And it's just more and more little decisions like that that add up over time to being able to see the clones as nothing more than tools.

The disillusionment with the Senate leads to him sort-of agreeing with things Dooku and the Separatists have said and he can look at the war and realize that it's entirely possible that the Republic is going to LOSE, and he CANNOT be the one who loses again, so maybe he starts bouncing around the concept of maybe switching sides. And of course initially he rejects the idea. He's a Jedi, he won't just abandon the Republic, he can't be a traitor, who in the Separatist side would ever trust him anyway. But once that seed is planted, it doesn't go away and it keeps coming back up and he keeps finding ways to rationalize why it might be a good idea and then deciding not to do it over and over again. Until one day, he can't convince himself that it's a bad idea or that it wouldn't work. He tells himself it's the ONLY option, if he doesn't change sides then he's dead. But Dooku WON'T trust him unless he can prove that he's not on the Republic's side, so he has to come up with a plan to gain their trust. And what better way to earn that trust than to ensure a Separatist victory in an important campaign by double-crossing the Republic.

And once he's chosen to go down that path, it's even EASIER to stop caring about the clones because, well, they're all dead anyway. The Republic is going to lose, the clones are all dead men walking no matter what, so why bother caring about them or trying to keep them alive? He can't lose so often that the Jedi or the Senate become suspicious of him, of course, but it's REALLY easy then to get to Umbara and treat the clones like crap and turn them against each other and intentionally try to get them all killed. They're dead anyway, he's not the one killing them really, is he, the Senate is, the Jedi are, the war is. They were dead from the moment they were created in that test tube because they were created for this specific purpose. It's not his fault.

And much like Barriss turns against the Jedi in part because she did LOVE the Jedi and was devastated by what she saw happening to them and the pain of seeing her people forced to become something they were never supposed to be, as much as her actions were intended as some kind of message to try to sort-of save the Jedi from a course of action she saw as their downfall, I think that Krell turns on the clones because at some point he DID care about them. A lot. And that care became his downfall, the pain at what was being done to them just absolutely gutted him and it threw him down a path that ultimately led him to turn against the very people whose deaths had hurt him so badly just a few short years ago.

Krell might not have been the most effusive or emotional person prior to the war or anything, he might've been a more reserved person similar to Mace or Dooku or Luminara, but I think he probably was a perfectly good Jedi who was kind and selfless and compassionate once upon a time.

And none of the headcanons above have even touched what his relationships with other JEDI must have been like. It's just as possible that he did have friends and people he considered family among the Jedi. Maybe he had a padawan once at some point. And maybe all of those people had died by the time we get to Umbara. Maybe he had to watch a lot of the people he was closest to just fall like flies, and so it starts feeling like nothing matters. Maybe one of the Jedi who died on Geonosis was a former padawan of his, but Krell himself obviously wasn't there and the pain of THAT loss and the guilt he feels at not having been there (even though this padawan had been knighted for a while and there was a good reason Krell wasn't there that day) just sticks with him, too, and he never quite manages to let that go, either.

I think a lot of people choose to just headcanon Krell as having just always been kind-of an asshole even when he was a Jedi, but that doesn't work for me. If Krell was always an asshole, I feel like the Jedi would've stepped in at some point before the war even HAPPENED and tried to manage that situation. And it doesn't match up with the way pretty much every other fallen Jedi has ever been written, where they were GOOD PEOPLE once upon a time who saw awful things happen that they couldn't stop or had an awful thing happen TO them that they couldn't stop and the pain of that experience consumes them to the point that they spiral into darkness as a result. Krell should be the same way, which means he likely was a perfectly good normal Jedi before the war. He would've been kind, he might've been good with younglings (he's tall, maybe he was the one the younglings went to all the time for piggy back rides, maybe he often taught dual wielding to padawans who asked because of how clearly proficient he is at it), he might've taught a student of his own successfully, he would've been wise and selfless and compassionate, he would've loved the Jedi and the people of the galaxy.

Like, to be frank, if Tales of the Jedi HAD to explore a fallen Jedi story, they should've explored Krell instead of Dooku. Dooku has been explored before, we know quite a lot about him and his motivations and his backstory, but Krell, as you noted, is left a mystery and is stuck in the realm of being just purely evil for the sake of the story they were telling in this one arc. Krell needed more nuance in a way Dooku just did not.

[missycolorful]

It's important to remember that the Antarctic Empire, and therefore SMP Earth, is essentially canon to QSMP. (as far as I'm aware) (it definitely will be for this post, so shhh)

Think about all the destruction, mayhem, and cruel things Philza did on SMPE. How nothing held him back. He committed so many war crimes with a damn smile on his face. As part of the Antarctic Empire, he took over the world.

And if SMP Earth Philza is also q!Philza, then it's interesting to see how much has changed since the old days. How, before being thrust into Purgatory, he's been chill and minding his own business. Never really got into conflicts, never caused mayhem or destruction. The only exceptions are two occasions: a) when he returned to the eggs being missing, and he lava casted the Presidential Building, and b) at the Guy Fawkes event.

(Which as I'm typing this I'm realizing. The Guy Fawkes day was an event set the day before things went to hell. An event designed to create mass destruction. An event in which the capybaras gave Philza all the power and control, to blow up with so many stacks of TNT. and Philza fucking loved it. Perhaps to just give us a taste of what's to come.)

But anyway! Philza hasn't really delved into chaos on this server all that much. And even in the beginning of Purgatory, what he has been saying about the Red Team being underdogs is true. They weren't off to a great start; the first day and a half were hell! And yes, he only killed in self defense. He didn't trust the eye worth shit. And of course, he didn't want to hurt anyone. And I'm sure that is still true.

But as time as gone on, as the days have passed, the underdog statement just isn't the case now, as they've embraced what has made them strong, even if they are lacking in other places (i.e. not a lot of PVP players, no enchanted equipment). And they've done some questionable stuff. The situation with q!Rivers, for example. And also one I don't see mentioned which, I think was Day 8? When Phil just. Stole a saddle and a stack of potatoes from Blue Team's base while he was taking/replanting their crops. But still, Philza wants to justify these actions. "It's the bolas way." "it was for a quest" "we did this cause this." He wants to believe that what he's doing isn't bad, because he's just trying to survive in purgatory, right? Philza is a survivalist, this is how he survives.

Then we had today, where Philza's intense gameplay shined. He fought so many people in PVP, didn't even take a second to hold back, used his impressive minecraft skills to work his way to Green's base, and he killed the statue. He went wild today. Just imagine, Philza, wearing the Bolas gas mask, descending upon you with a sword, with no mercy. No, not just Philza, but the Angel of Death.

I think this is what Purgatory wants out of him. Right? Because clearly, Purgatory wants to bring the worst out of everyone.

I also think the reason that q!Phil tries to justify so much of his actions isn't simply ruled as hypocrisy (though it's a bit, in a way) or, in meta, born from self deprecation. No, there's something more to it.

It's because Philza does not want to be corrupted by Purgatory. He refuses to accept that it's dragging him to a dark place. A familiar place, even. I genuinely believe that Philza simply does not want to be like how he was all those years ago. Destructive and cruel. He doesn't want to go back. He's not like that anymore. He's a better person now. He doesn't want to hurt people, and I absolutely believe that. That's different, though, than saying I won't.

[huginsmemory]

Trigun and the 'Bride of Christ'

An additional thought that popped up after my previous post about Triguns heavy themes of Christianity (a somewhat? Part 2?). In this I look at the Vash and Wolfwoods relationship, their opposing views and how that relates to the Christian term 'the bride of christ'. During this I specifically discuss a large spoiler for the series/manga, so readers beware!

I was chatting with some lovely folks on the Vashwood discord server (if you wish to join, click this link!) about Wolfwoods death, and the way it's, well, wedding themed. The wedding themes include the confetti, the way Wolfwoods passing occurs in front of a church, the ringing of the church bell, and the bottle of liquor they share is labelled 'BRIDE' with a cross on it.

All the items come together in a definite way that resembles, in some terrible fashion, the festivities for a wedding. Hell, even after Vash buries Wolfwood, he makes tons of dishes of food, and Livio and him basically have a feast, another thing one does at weddings.

The 'Bride of Christ'

What particularly caught my eye was the bottle with the word bride on it, with a cross. Multiple times within the new testament, the body of the church is referred to as the 'Bride of Christ'. As I've previously mentioned, Vash is regularly set up as a Christ-like figure; his actions and his philosophical values align with a Christian perspective, in his belief in unconditional love and forgiveness (ie, the blank ticket). As well, as that Wolfwood is a Christian preist, this literally makes him a 'bride of Christ'. In a sense, where in the story Vash is pitched as a Christ-like figure, this means that Wolfwood could be interpreted as the 'bride of Vash'. This especially so considering the contextual clues that hint towards a wedding - confetti, church, and church bells.

Acceptance of Christian philosophy

Further adding to this, is that although Wolfwood was a priest, he did not fully ascribe to Vash's view. In fact, the two of them are foils, their beliefs similar- both coming from love and a need to protect, but differing in Vash ascribing to unconditional love and forgiveness, while Wolfwood refuting that such a position can be practically taken (this is, well, I would say a simplified take on their beliefs but thats a different post for a different day). However, by this point in the story, the both of them have very deeply impacted each other. In fact, this is set almost immediately after Wolfwood saves Vash from Knives, which is the the moment where Vash openly forgives Wolfwood and Wolfwood begins his acceptance of Vash's philosophical views; in that specific moment, he accepts his own absolution (explained further in my previous post).

It is exactly in Wolfwoods fight against Chapel and Livio, that Wolfwood fully (or mostly so) accepts Vash's philosophical views, expanding to accept a blank ticket/unconditional love for others. This is seen as he repeatedly chooses not to kill Chapel's hired guns, and even sharply pleading Livio to spare one of them. Indeed, previously at Vash's request, he'll shoot to injure, but he's not really shown to be particularly worried about the bandits, versus here he is actively choosing to minimize harm; exactly like we've seen Vash do, over and over and over again throughout the series. As well, the hired guns literally try to target the orphanage when they've clearly lost, and also kill one of their own when Wolfwood brings him back, telling him that they've just upped their pay- showing that they're not particularly 'redeemable' hired guns that are likely to repent and become good people. And yet, Wolfwood still chooses to try and save them.

He also specifically goes out of his way to not kill Livio, even though killing Livio would severely even out the playing field, and Wolfwood would likely not have likely died as a result. And Wolfwood makes that decision, again and again and again, only focusing on killing Chapel, and Chapel only, since he's the one that is threatening the orphans.

While Wolfwood fights, Chapel derides him on Vash's views, and how Wolfwood has picked them up. Wolfwood, close to death, reviews his relationship with Vash and Vash's philosophy, and refutes the ideology that Chapel believes in, and that he himself has lived under, that they need to kill to survive, (or to save lives) and that Vash's belief in forgiveness and unconditional love is foolish.

It culminates in Wolfwood declaring that he believes in Vash, in his principles, and standing back up to continue to fight, having accepted Vash's Christian philosophy. Interestingly, it's also Christian leaning terminology he uses; both in that he followed Vash, much like one follows the the teachings of Christ, and that he believes in the Vash's ability to change to world with his philosophy, in the same way Christians believe in Jesus's ability to save the world through the gospel.

In summary, Wolfwood chooses to accept and even says he believes in Vash's philosophical views, thereby choosing to accept the possibility of forgiveness and unconditional love, both for himself, as is shown when he saves Vash from Knives, but also for others, and especially with Livio during the scene up to his death. This full acceptance and belief in a Christian/Vash's perspective would then also show that Wolfwood has fully accepted to be the 'bride of Christ', making him not only via contextual cues a 'bride' of Vash, but also within a Christian theological sense a bride of Vash as well.

In conclusion, (ie, TLDR) Wolfwoods death is wedding themed, with confetti, a church, church bells, and a bottle with the label BRIDE with a cross on it. The church is within the Bible called the 'bride of Christ'; as Vash is a christ-figure, and Wolfwood is a priest, this would make Wolfwood Vash's bride. As well, it is just previous to Wolfwood death scene that Wolfwood has accepted Vash's Christian philosophies, signalling his acceptance as the 'bride of Christ/Vash', further perpetuating the wedding theme.

TTLDR: Vash and Wolfwood are married yup 👍

[crivalsduo]

idk if you enjoy writing about him so it's totally fine if you don't, but how does c!wilbur react to c!dnb in any AU of your choosing? does he have any kind of influence on either c!dream or c!techno?

OH good question. it definitely really depends on the au so i'll touch on what i consider just '''canon''' c!dnb (based on my 'dandelions and roses' fic) and then horrible/happy.

but in all circumstances, he definitely is confused about the pairing and maybe a little jealous? i mean. just think about the vassal scene and you'll get what i mean by that.

with canon c!dnb, i think c!wilbur absolutely tries to influence them both. he probably paints it as some kind of betrayal to c!techno and brings up c!tommy to which techno is like '.....bruh i was there in pogtopia, i've seen you and tommy and also you encouraged me to beat him up and you were gonna kill me sooooooo'.

if wilbur attempts to go to c!phil about it, all phil is going to say is, yeah, he thought it was weird to him at first but techno is happy and people can change and also everyone involved is a grown ass adult, wil, find a damn hobby that doesn't involve scamming people or meddling. he's not getting involved further than this. love you son but no thanks mate.

with dream.... dream has always been thrown off around wilbur. we've seen it a bunch in canon. i don't know how it would go exactly, but i can see wilbur asking prying and leading questions designed to make dream doubt himself and techno. luckily, techno is aware of wilbur's bs and dream trusts techno so it doesn't get much further than that.

as for horrible/happy....

wilbur is one of the people that c!quackity invited to the club. so there's an added layer of. yeah. that.

when they play their game of 'this is daisy and she was mistreated and forced into working at the club/sex trafficked' to get sam and quackity to back down, wilbur doesn't know daisy is dream. he's actually really apologetic and wants to be supportive. he's not a terrible person, y'know? this is a stranger who means nothing to him, really, so he has no ulterior motive to act any other way.

the problem starts when it's revealed that daisy is dream. because now there's a history. and sure, dream is not the same person anymore, not really, but he's still dream and there's plenty of moments when he's dream if you get what i mean.

and that's when some of the comments from wilbur begin. it's up in the air whether they're truly malicious or they're wilbur's way of coping with the whole thing but yeah. he makes ''jokes'' about having slept with dream as if he doesn't know what the context of that was. which as you can imagine is pretty messed up for dream to hear. he's also way more insistent on 'making up' for it which is probably about 90% genuine but again. pretty fucking traumatic for dream who is struggling with the entire server knowing what happened to him.

it's not good and techno definitely has to take him aside and basically be like 'wilbur, phil is my best friend and that's the only reason we're havin' this conversation instead of me poundin' your face in but stop makin' this all about you, man. leave dream alone.'

[hccn-overseer]

Issure 34, 2/29/24

Welcome, one and all, to the second season of the Hermitcitizen Overseer and the tenth of Hermitcraft itself! There are scenanigans aplenty waiting for us in the upcoming season, so let's not hesitate to get going!

Bookwatch

Written by AzureClouds 

This season, in an attempt to not use trading systems, Grian has decided to try and fish up a book of mending to use for enchanting. 

Until recently, he has had little luck catching the elusive mending books, although he had caught several other enchanted books. Additionally, (as of writing) Grian has managed to catch roughly 6500 fish-the majority of which have been cod-, Nautilus shells, fishing rods and bows with various enchantments, and saddles, all to various degrees of usefulness.

Statistically, there is generally a 1.9% chance of catching an Enchanted book while fishing, with a 0.015% chance of catching a mending book! Meaning that, supposedly for every 100 times Grian casts his line, he should catch 2 books, and if he catches 127 books, he should be able to find two mending books. 

In addition, Grian built a Cod Dungeon, complete with a secret entrance, and statues decorating the walls, even a special painting by Hoffen in an attempt to raise his chances of catching a mending book, officially named the Chamber of Sea Critters. 

Finally, after over nine thousand attempts, Grian was able to fish up a mending book, specifically with Piercing 3 and mending, and he has decided to instead trade for the rest of the books he needs.

Now on to other news below the cut!

Hermit Permits

By AzureClouds

This season, shops, and what you will be selling has been decided by various permits, distributed randomly. Each hermit has received six permits, of various value. The three tiers are iron, gold, and diamond, with each hermit receiving three iron permits, two gold, and one diamond permit. This means that only one Hermit is able to sell any given item (that there is an existing permit for).

For some items, such as wood, glass or wool, hermits are required to build a shop with those who received a permit in the same category as them (for example, all hermits who received a permit for wood will be building a shop together), with these shops being either collaborative, competitive or anything in between!

Additionally, as the winner of demise, False Symmetry was awarded a Joker permit, giving her the ability to pick an item to sell at any time. This special permit can only be used once, and has not yet been put into play. 

A Small(Ishbeans) Introduction! By Roo

This season, we welcomed another two hermits- Skizzleman, and Smallishbeans. While an article for Skizz is anticipated and hoped for, this one is about none other than Joel Smallishbeans. 

First, let’s get you acquainted, shall we? Joel Smallishbeans- often called Joel Beans, Bean, Big Man, or just plain Joel- is a British YouTuber who, other than the green streak in the hair of his minecraft skin, can be recognized as “That One Guy Who Used To Be Shrek”*. A former member of both of the seasons of Empires SMP, as well as other servers such as the life series (he won Last Life in our hearts), or KingdomCraft, way back when, Joel is renowned for making buildings and areas that take immense amounts of time, effort, and skill, as well as the absolute beast he is at PVP. (Yes, we are aware this article would boost his ego immensely. That’s alright.) From the giant spires of the Mazalean Palace to the looming castles of his hardcore world, to the beginnings of his Hermitcraft base, it’s easy to say that Joel is a legendary builder that’ll be at home on Hermitcraft. 

As for how his Hermitcraft is going- other than the multitude of failed attempts to kill XBCrafted, and the one successful attempt (yes, that took 74 TNT), everything seems to be going well for our favorite bean man. He already has a glow squid farm that works- well, it works- in addition to a lovely road, four buildings, and his first Hermitcraft diamond hanging proudly on the wall. His build style, a mixture of traditional Japanese architecture and a modern-cyberpunk-ish-vibe, seems to involve an astounding level of detail, which is impressive in and of itself, and also in the lag that is generated. Those glowing signs may have to decrease sometime through the season.

Of course, seeing as it’s Hermitcraft, shenanigans are bound to ensue, and from the past, we know Joel is one who will never back down from a good shenanigan. Those twelve kills in Last Life didn’t get themselves, after all. His neighbors, whom he has dubbed the Magic Mountaineers- Grian, Mumbo, Scar, Gem, Impulse, Skizz, and himself- are all settled around one big cherry blossom mountain (hence the name), and with Hermits that close together, we know that mischief is already brewing, pranks are being planned, and friendly rivalries formed.

No matter where the season goes for him, Joel seems to have an amazing start to this season, and for any of you who are considering giving him a watch, we would highly recommend- his sarcasm, skill, and hatred for Minecraft chickens and horses are hard to forget, and many a good time is had over on the Smallishbeans channel. 

Look out, Hermitcraft Season 10!

Skizzleman, the man, the myth the legend. 

By Winter. 

Skizzleman is one of the new members of Hermitcraft Season 10. As you saw Mr Beans introduced in another article it is now Skizzleman’s turn. Now most people may not know what Skizzleman has done before Hermitcraft, so here is a run down. 

Skizzleman is part of the Z.I.T.S, aka Zedaph. Impulse. Tango. Skizzleman. These four have been creating videos together for a while. The first series that Impulse and Skizzleman created together is “Naked and Scared” which was and continues to be a unique spin on the genre of Hardcore. 

 For the wider audience, you may know Skizzleman from the hit series “The Life Series”. While Skizzleman has never won any series he has always left a resounding echo within each character he has portrayed. This often creates a very emotional ending to each series. He always commits to the bit, even to the character's demise. 

Another place you may know Skizzleman from is the GIGS Phasmophobia streams, or the 2020 Assorted Hermits(and Skizzleman) Among Us Streams. Both of the streams are different in the dynamics that they invoke. The streams are memorable and cemented in the viewer's hearts that Skizzleman was already a Hermit way before his invite. 

In other endeavours he runs a podcast with ImpulseSV called the “Imp and Skizz podcast”. Within this podcast, they discuss a variety of topics such as: how they became friends, parenting, what makes a great leader, and other big philosophical topics. They also have special guests such as Geminitay, Xisumavoid, Evan and Kate, and others. On this podcast, Impulse also proposed to Skizzleman about joining Hermitcraft. 

They now have started the season and with that new connections are being formed. As of current Skizzleman has a starter base which is lovingly called “Skizz’s Crack”. He is staying in the area with fellow hermits  Grian, SmallishBeans, GoodTimesWithScar, ImpulseSV, Mumbo Jumbo, and GeminiTay. He is currently creating a pyramid. We at the Overseer wish him well on his journey to creating joy within people's hearts. 

Lost + Found Collected by Roo

-

lost item:

a blue crochet squid on a crochet piece of sushi.

it has large eyes and is wrapped around the crochet sushi.

-

lost item(s)

5 boxes of cod.

i doubt whoever lost it actually wants to find it again.

...but i dont really want this either.

-

lost item:

ive found another one. the cursed enchanted items.

a luck of the sea, lure,unbreaking, and.

multishot...

fishing rod.

you can. assume what it does.

That's all for this week! Tune in next time to hear about the endeavors of the Citizens and the Hermits themselves!

[cattimeswithjellie]

Secret Life was great because every perspective on it is so fresh, you can watch just about everybody without even getting bored. Even in the finale, where everybody had the same secret, the plot unfolds like a flower, where you understand more of what actually happened the more you watch.

I just happened to watch Scar's episode first, which was a great place to start obviously because I got the basic story of the finale from beginning to end, and of course it was a wild ride! But there was so much left unknown, so many friends and enemies fallen without knowing what happened to them, so many plots unspooling outside of Scar's POV. In the end we were left with the same question he had: How did the guy with no friends win the game?

Part of the answer, of course, was obvious. Scar was absolutely on fire in Session 9, scoring an astonishing number of permakills and racking up the hearts to offset his recklessness. I'm not sure he quite realized the banger strategy he fell into by rushing in and just soaking damage while bashing his opponent to death, then using the ten hearts to repair the damage over and over again, but boy was it effective!

Beyond Scar himself, though, was a massive plot throughline that was only partially visible from his POV, and that was the loyalty the previous winners had to their teams above themselves. With the exception of Martyn, whose partner was lost two sessions ago, each previous Games winner had their own alliance and eventually their own favored player that they wanted to win.

Scott's loyalty to the Cherry Blossoms made their home into a fortress and Gem into a powerhouse partially fueled by his own life energy. She's a hell of a player on her own merits and tore a wide swath through the server in a brilliant first outing, but without Scott convincing Impulse to give her both their yellow lives, she would not have survived the combined effects of Grian's two ambushes to make her way into the final three. Along the way, the Cherry Blossoms took out both Bdubs and Joel, the two players who were Pearl's and who would otherwise have had her loyalty to the end of the line.

Grian's loyalty to the Roomies alliance was always more questionable than Scott's, because he is who he is, but he came through in the end and sent Cleo out of the portal cave while remaining behind to take on the near-suicidal task of triggering the explosion. And when he was discovered, he attempted to 1v3 the Cherry Blossoms to give his teammate more time to escape. (And it probably would've worked, if the remaining Mounders and Scar had not found Cleo and run her to ground at the same time.) Grian's last stand was perhaps the most pivotal moment in the late game because it changed the whole balance of power on the server. Scar never knew why Scott, Gem and Impulse were so much weaker than they were supposed to be at the end of the game, but we the audience know.

And of course Pearl's loyalty is unquestionable, even if by the end of the game, all the original targets for it were gone. Pearl proved herself a Mounder, bred and buttered (as they said in my neck of the woods.) She was quite wary of letting Scar into the alliance at all, but she is loyal and more interested in helping her team to victory than in taking a second crown for herself. Scott and Gem killed her guys before the end of the line, but she still had Scar, and she was still loyal to the end.

And thus the man with no friends wound up on the other side of a fight he'd already lived through four games ago, fighting an ally who didn't want to win for a victory he wasn't sure he deserved. But there's an important difference that I'm sure we'll be spending the entire rest of the series downtime dissecting: this time the victor _lived._

[box-architecture]

"Well aren't you pretty like this," Philza laughed, lifting a leg and throwing it over his shoulder. Dream squirmed on the forest floor, trying to recover his breath.

"You're- what?"

"I was hoping the signals I was sending were getting through," Philza half sighed, half grumbled. "but I s'pose we're not quite at that level of synced yet."

Dream sputtered as Philza leaned forward- bending his leg in a incredibly revealing position, oh god- to plant a small kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"That should probably make my intentions clear." He smiled.

Philza compliments him and cuddles him and sighs each time he sinks a little deeper on Dream’s cock, while Dream is torn between gripping his hips and the grass beneath him.

-

I think Philza is used to being around people he knows and understands so well that they can just Move and Say A Word and he'll understand, and he struggles with Starting At The Beginning Again with Dream, trying to memorize his ticks and movements and what every little tone means.

And Dream can predict people like a master until it has anything to do with affection towards him, because surely it doesn't mean that much to other people, every touch every kiss every little piece of softness. It's At Dream but not For Dream. And now it's for Him and he can't even recognize it.

Philza is desperately trying to flirt with a man who no longer Sees It

And it fucks them over a couple of times because Philza has a habit of making assumptions in the beginning that Dream gets that Philza is trying for a relationship and not as a server powerplay, not as a way to let off steam, not because he's bored and not because of any other reason Dream could possibly come up with.

But only a couple of times. Philza is a quick learner and he's studying Dream, he won't make the same mistakes twice if he can help it.

Dream melts so easily when Philza covers him with his wings. Can be coaxed to set the mask down and just lie down in bed for cuddles, cooling tea on the end table

When Dream can finally bring himself around to the idea that maybe this is a relationship and not a powerplay, he becomes more comfortable with PDA, cracking jokes at Philza’s height, his age, his ridiculousness. Philza takes the entire thing with delight.

More openness, more flirting, more Dream telling Philza about how he became an admin and flushing because "It's probably not as interesting as it was for you" but Philza brushes a wing down his side and looks enthralled, urging him to continue. He wants to know everything about Dream.

And eventually Dream, before prison, says "we have to not see each other anymore," and of course Philza, who has carefully put to memory every tell Dream has ever shown, pries out even just the vaguest hint of the plan and says Absolutely Not I'm Digging My Claws Into You And Never Letting Go

And he succeeds for maybe a Week before Dream goes out And Does It Anyway

With a note to please respect his wishes, he promises that it isn't a big deal and that everything is better like this

And Philza, who killed his son because Wilbur Asked, listens. He begrudgingly listens. He is the most grumpy about it. Techno makes fun of him for it.

And this is fine up until he learns that Dream's been imprisoned and Technos visit ends up happening Super Early because Philza said he wouldn't interfere but that doesn't mean he isn't going to be underhanded and find every loophole he can

So Dream gets broken out before Quackity Torture. Because Sam was still cutting his meals and abusing him and Philza has a Syndicate he can politely ask to do his dirty work for him.

Philza is going to scold him and then fuck him senseless while Dream argues the whole damn way. Dream is being bent over a table and fucked sideways. He has come twice. Philza has left claw marks in the table to prevent leaving them in Dream while Dream is still healing.

[tev-the-random]

So I may have come up with a whole Villain Jimmy AU...

Listen. I have way too many feelings about the events of Jimmy's Empires S2 Episode 31 and the immediate following stream. I also have way, way too many feelings about whatever the hell is happening in Sausage's and Shubble's lore and whatever is to come in Lizzie's, so I decided to only indulge one brainrot at a time and came up with... an interesting concept? I dunno, I'm easily entertained—

(There's a TLDR at the end if you don't want to read my insane and incessant ramblings o3o)

Ok so, after Walmart WRA kills Jimmy on the bridge for the kicks and giggles, Jimmy really starts questioning just what respect is and who his friends actually are. The conclusion? Dude has absolutely zero friends. Sure, he has this truce going on with Joel, and Katherine has been somewhat trustworthy so far. But actual friends? Nada. Closest thing he had were Scar and Tango, but they're gone now and he didn't even get a proper goodbye. His town is empty. He's alone.

Jimmy may be quick to anger, but this might be the first time he actually allows himself to be sad about it. There's something much more painful than rage crawling inside of him; be it guilt, self-hatred, loneliness, betrayal, there's just so much he's been burying under all the fighting that he can barely breathe through it all now. But once it's over, Jimmy's left with a strange feeling of clarity. This cold bitterness and complicated self-awareness that would turn into something far more sinister in the future.

The next day is really what decides his next course of action, though. He's touring the Old Sheriff around the server, kind of holding onto the last hope that someone might want him to stay after all. But then Fwhip comes along and decides that no, he doesn't get to have this, so they start bickering like the old divorced couple they are, like nothing's changed. Somehow, Fwhip manages to charm his way into the Old Sheriff's good books despite everything that Jimmy has said about his ex-deputy.

Martyn (that's what I'm calling him, he doesn't get his own name now) laughs at his jokes, makes little comments that... sound so familiar to Jimmy. This is how it all started: little comments — and this is how it's going to end. Maybe the Old Sheriff has good intentions. Maybe he does have the intention to stick with Jimmy and be a friend/mentor to him. But Jimmy, still raw from his most recent disillusionment, can't bear the thought of befriending someone only to have the rug pulled from under him again.

So Jimmy leaves Tumble Town in the dead of night.

Now, his first objective is to bring himself back to normal. He had to admit, no matter how hard he tried, it was hard to gather any respect from others when he was trapped in the body of a literal toy. He had already asked Joel to reverse this nonsense, but the god only offhandedly mentioned that this was Jimmy's true form and that it was how he was meant to look — which Jimmy took as "I have no idea how to, my name is Joel and I'm irresponsible with my powers and incompetent and also really short". So his next destination is the Witch Academy.

He had heard about the them from Shelby. She was a nice witch — or, well, nice enough. She was clearly going through some stuff at the moment, which is why he thought it would be better not to ask her for help to begin with — and was clearly able to change people's bodies, whether intentionally or not. So surely the people who taught her magic would be able to help him, right?

Little did Jimmy know that most witches do not, in fact, give a damn about helping other people. After travelling far and wide, he explained his curse to them, and all they did was close the door on his face.

Well, he's not having it! If the witches won't help him, he'll find someone else who will! This is when Jimmy starts travelling around in search of someone, anyone who could undo his curse so he may start his life anew. Through all the ensuing shenanigans, he gathers some... interesting allies.

It's not that he wants to ally himself with undead pirates; he may not be a sheriff anymore, but that doesn't mean he's about to become a criminal! But alas, when the boat he's travelling with is captured, it's not like he can do much else.

Jimmy is spared due to his... interesting predicament. Well, surely this tiny tiny man could be useful! Besides, didn't he use to live close to Pirate Joe? So in exchange for some information on Skeletron's rival and helping them get some treasure for a little while, Jimmy is dropped off at the next port with directions to a shady wizard who might be able to solve his problem.

When he gets to said wizard, they are already expecting him. You see, this is the same wizard who gave Scott his magic eye, and although I'm sure we'll get some actual canon explanation to it eventually, this is an AU in which the wizard may have some... ulterior motives. And they may or may not have been spying on a certain god who lives very close to Chromia. But that's a story for another time!

Jimmy wakes up the next day his normal-sized, human self again! It's almost overwhelming, how much he loves his own body right now. His chest quite literally aches... and that's when he notices a heart-shaped scar on it.

The wizard is still around. They explain to him that, to deal with the curse, they had to remove his heart. Literally. They stored it in this lamp, which emits a blinding red glow — an indicative of how strong it is, how much it feels. The farther away he is from it, the more detached he will be from his feelings. Although that would mean he should probably carry it close at all times, he should not forget that it is still his actual heart; you better keep it safe, kid.

Now that the deed is done, the only thing that the wizard asks for is a front row view when Stratos falls. Jimmy carries a lot of grief, clearly, and if they know anything about him — which they shouldn't, but they strangely do, — he is going to get back at the people who made him miserable for so long. It just so happens that the wizard also has a beef with Joel, so really, they both win in the end!

After some not-so-subtle persuasion and reminders of all the horrible things Jimmy had to endure in the past, the wizard manages to convince our ex-sheriff into going back to the empires to truly bring an end to this story of pain. He's never going to be able to start anew unless he gets rid of all traces of his weak past self, right? His enemies deserve to reap the hate they've sown fashioned in cold blood, right?

And so Jimmy concocts a plan, gathers resources and new (purely professional and with no emotional attachment, never again) allies, and returns to Tumble Town a new man with a new name. In the day, he's a charming and friendly traveller sneaking his way into the emperors' hearts. At night, he's a dangerous bandit carrying a lamp of dwindling red light, playing a game of metaphorical chess with the authorities to bring the pieces of his plan closer together.

-

TL;DR Jimmy leaves the empires bitter with his friends, searches for a way to turn back into a regular human and finds a wizard who does so in exchange for being able to watch the world burn. To reverse the curse, he had to lose his heart, which he now carries in a red lantern closely tied to his feelings. He goes back home for revenge.

Calling this one the Red Light Bandit AU òwó

[twig-gy]

TWIGGY. DESIGNATED CCCC MUTUAL. whats the story of cccc <- literally cannot understand it for the life of it . it seems so so so interesting but alas i Cannot understand it :-(

i remember when i was asking ppl for cccc lore too

there’s probably <ref>more subtext</ref> everywhere and lore and such idk but there is a basic plot most ppl have agreed on

loop begins again (time machine reprise & dream, mucka blucka is the introductory song)

heart shoots at mind in RoE (ruler of everything), misses, is blinded (as a punishment for trying to kill mind) (can be interpreted to be done by either mind or soul but most ppl say soul did it bc of a lyric in either light or night, i forgor which one, which goes “tines stabbed through eyes, that the sides have condemned)

he ‘goes to’ apathy (quotes are because apathy can be interpreted as a literal place that he GOES TO, like soul put him in the pit or something, there are a lot of mentions of a pit like in tme “and he falls inside the hole he dug for me”, anyway apathy can just be him literally being apathetic whatever) and gives off control to mind

soul threatens to kill them all in the soul eclectic bc he is TIRED of their bs

the bidding is where they argue but they synchronize at the end -> light is them making up

we’re gonna win, variations on a cloud, the whole world and you are basically them talking abt how it is nice to not argue all the time and transition out of cacophony

the concord songs are basically covers that the character whole would make (if you are a whole believer)

and then the loop begins again

notes:

whole doesn’t have to be like a character? technically the album wasn’t written as like ‘these three are characters’ it was ‘these three are representations of this one guy’s parts and his internal dissonance’ so like. they are all just one guy. and whole isn’t really a separate character. but we have made whole a guy who is separate to the rest (even though hms like. unionize to be him idk). but that’s optional whole doesn’t have to exist

the loop can be interpreted as a timeloop but it can also be just a metaphorical loop to refer to how mental health issues are cyclical (how am i the only cccc as a metaphor for addiction fan)

also cccc has a DISCORD which chonny jash is in, Chonny Jash Fan Server i believe it’s called, and i’m pretty sure most of the aus are there or something >:(

anyway that is like basic plot you can probably analyze these songs for like. days but i don’t have the brainpower to do that so i will just languish not knowing the Absolute Truth that Totally Exists

idk what else 2 say

[eulchu]

I came to this fandom after dsmp ended, i have only a vague idea of what the c!dnf story was, could you do a brief summary of it? if it's not too much effort, and if you happen to remember the timeline and how it parallels real life? thanks 🙂

so basically towards the begining it was c!dteam having fun, until c!tommy joined the server and started griefing and killing george repeatedly for fun (both were against the server rules) so that made c!dream really mad and he started messing with c!tommy back. c!george and c!sap joined him and a rivalry was born.

fast forward some betrayals and a war, c!dream pronounces c!george king of the server, and promises loyalty to him. it's epic and awesome fast forward some time rumors stirr that there's a riot waiting to happen to dethrone c!george. that makes c!dream paranoid and he dethrones him first, which feels like the absolute betrayal for c!george, who had been promised only good and big things. shit hits the fan shortly after and c!dream loses his mind HEAVILY whilst c!george finds a deeper alliance in the fiances.

c!dream gets locked up for being insane and c!george tries to get him out by mining the obsidian with his fists. you'd imagine he doesn't get very far. after that c!dream is in prison while c!george is off to sleep all the time to the point where he can't differenciate between awakeland and being asleep. he sees a man who looks like dream in those dreams, which turns out to be the god of the server, dreamxd. he befriends him because he reminds him of dream and also does things for him. it's unclear why xd fixates on c!george the way he does - maybe because he likes to fuck with c!dream (there's a whole story arc there). probably because his favorite kind of people were the ones who suffered awful nightmares, and c!george had a lot of those.

that situation kind of stays like that until the end of the server. c!dream stays crazy, people using c!george against him because it's the only thing that gets through him, and c!george stays sad and in dreamland, plagued by weird dreams and nightmares about c!dream betraying him and pandora.

- in terms of their story resembling real life, id say a lot of it comes from the xd narrative. dream creates that character during a george stream because everyone was in the server and his character was canonically in prison, so he creates xd to be able to play with them. most of it though, comes from george. it's george who makes his character look for c!dream everywhere without quite reaching him. it's c!george who always wakes up with a gasp before he can really turn his dream from a nightmare to something nice. it's c!george who always looks at the prison from afar and who never dares visit c!dream because "i was told you didn't want me to see you", but really, he was just scared that he couldn't take dream back with him.

there's a dream that c!george has, one of the only nice ones he ever had, where c!dream shows up on top of the prime path, and they're running towards each other, saying how much they've missed each other. and then c!george wakes up.

c!dnf (dnfxd) was a lot of dream twisting the server's narrative so that he could spend irl time with george during lore (even when they were already spending 24/7 together), and a lot of george making one of his character's traits long for c!dream to the point where he went fucking ballistic and destroyed the entire server because c!dream chose someone else over him (which, quite frankly... that's just cc!george)

[errornameredacted]

you haunt my waking thoughts(you dry my resting tears)

again based on the mafia server m'lao

Set D5 After Scar's Death ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wind swept up the loose grains of sand, lifting them off the ground and up into the air. Despite it being the tail end of the day in the middle of autumn, it was always melting in the desert. Another day had passed, another person had died to the Hands, and one was killed by the Town. Today it was Scar found dead. Well, they found him almost dead. But he died pretty much the second they found him. There was no point of him being alive, only to add to the pain. And it already hurt. A lot. At least, for Grian it did.

His feet made no sound as he walked through the desert, alone. It all felt so surreal. He'd been through all this before, many times. But this time was different, he guessed just a little bit of him hoped that this time, they could live together. No reds, no Hands, just Grian, Scar and the endless dunes of the desert. Of course, that tiny spark was extinguished once he approached him this morning. The only thing he could see was the thousands of cactus spines sticking out of his body. It was all too similar, the way he knelt down by his corpses and wept for the lover he lost. It was all his fault.

He reached Monopoly Mountain, but he didn't begin the climb up to the house. He didn't want to go in alone, to try and resume life as normal when it would never be the same again. Jellie should be in the house, sleeping on her pillow as she always is. She'd always wake up when Scar arrived, looking up at him with those beautiful emerald eyes. Grian didn't want to think about her eyes. They reminded him too much of Scar's. He was at the door to the sandcastle. Grian didn't realise he'd been walking up to it. His brain must've autopiloted it's way up. Grian swallowed his pride, and opened the door.

It was quiet in the castle. What was Grian expecting? That Scar would just, waltz down the stair like he always did? He's gone, and he will never come back. And who do we blame for that other than the innocent Cleo. Just another life lost. Grian really should be used to this by now, the haunting silence that was always there when he failed, when he hurt the people that trusted him. How many times he had felt this way, Grian doesn't know. But it's enough that he should be used to it. He was the widower every time, yet he always lost himself in the grief.

Grian dragged himself to the mat he called his bed. Scar slept their too. He won't need it anymore. Grian's wing spread over the mat like a child's blanket. They were probably full of dirt. Scar would preen his wings every night, carefully picking out every last grain of sand, going on and on about how he'd kill for wings like Grian's, how he'd kill for Grian. No more would he share these little moments with his partner. The chance was gone, he was alone.

Slowly, he began to pick away at the wings, removing the few noticeable specks of brown or beige. Grian wasn't going to go into detail with this. If he did, high chance he would cry, and he really didn't want to get the ‘bed’ soggy.

Once the colours were almost restored to their natural colour, Grian realised he was absolutely wrecked. He curled up into the mat, pulling the ragged sheet they used as a cover tightly to his body. It smelt of sand. It smelt of home. It smelt of Scar. Gods, Grian was a mess.

Grian fell asleep dreaming of the day he'd see Scar again, the day he'd hug him tighter then he ever did before.

The day he'd hold his hand and never let go.

@p-011-yn @justaleksey <- people who played desert duo

@audriandae <- to keep you happy

[caffedrine]

Gilbert von Obsidian - The Bodyguard Prince - Event Summary

Alternate Title: Do you know what will happen if you touch what is mine?

Do I ever know what I’m doing? You shouldn’t trust me, or my suspect understanding of what’s going on in my daily life, much less in Gilbert’s world.

Accuracy is not guaranteed - you should definitely pick up this event when it reaches the English server.

Emma has made a new friend, which is noteworthy since the malice surrounding the evil prince has isolated her from almost everyone else. This new friend is the only one Emma has been able to make during her stay in Rhodolite (outside of the princes).

While desperately reading a book in the library, Emma feels a cold figure slide into the seat next to hers. Out of both becoming accustomed to him and desperation to finish her book, Emma ignores Gilbert. Gilbert tells her to open up to him since he is her friend.

Although she is aware of him, Emma does her best to continue to read her book as if there are no distractions. Gilbert asks if he should kill her, and Emma finally snaps at him to just stop it. She finally looks at him, only to see him smiling sweetly as if he hadn’t made that disturbing threat. Gilbert tells her in that case, just to pay attention to him.

Why oh why is he always like this? Even as Emma laments, she knows the reason behind all of this.  

Due to her position as Belle, hiding in the court as a minor noblewoman, Emma has to attend social gatherings. Very recently, she met the daughter of an Earl who was close to her age and had a similar love for books. Due to her new friend’s father’s work, she wasn’t always at court, so she wasn’t aware of Emma’s association with the enemy prince, so they had bonded.

This is also the first person besides the princes who has talked to Emma in a long time. She is Emma’s first new friend, outside of the self-proclaimed friend Gilbert is.

In a bored tone, Gilbert asks if Emma is reading this book because of her new friend. Emma admits that’s true; her new friend highly recommended this book to Emma. She realizes that Gilbert is in an unusually bad mood. Is it because he wants her to be socially isolated and dependent on him, and is upset that she’s branching out?

Gilbert moves the conversation along and asks if she’s planning on attending a tea party with her new friend tomorrow. Emma asks how he knows about that, and Gilberts happily informs her that he has eyes everywhere.

As Emma begins to feel very vulnerable and creeped out, Gilbert asks if she’s reading this book just so she can talk about it at the tea party tomorrow. It seems like all she’s thinking about is her new friend.  He asks which is more important, him or her new friend. Diplomatically, Emma assures Gilbert that they’re both important to her.

Not happy with that answer, Gilbert reminds her that he should be her number one priority. This is so upsetting that he must simply cry. And he does, kind of. In an absolutely fake and theatrical manner.

Emma asks if there’s something wrong with this. Forgetting that he’s supposed to be crying, Gilbert laughs and notes that Emma is becoming quite bold. He’s not going to stop her, but he doesn’t expect anything good to come out of her new relationship. Noble friends aren’t the friends she thinks they are.

Emma thought Gilbert was simply sulking, but his next words were sincere. He tells her that just as her definition of ‘friend’ and his definition of ‘friend’ is different, Emma’s new friend also has a different definition of ‘friend’. And, until Emma figures out what ‘friend’ means to her new friend, she should be worried.

Emma tells Gilbert that if there is no initial trust, there is no chance for friendships to form. Emma believes in her new friend, which is the first step to becoming friends. And, unlike Gilbert, this friend is less likely to have ill intentions toward her.

Gilbert chuckles, telling Emma he sees where she’s coming from. And, based on that definition, he and Emma are definitely friends. Emma tries to change the subject, but, undeterred, Gilbert compliments Emma’s bravery.

Emma just doesn’t trust Gilbert. She has already forgiven herself for that mistake she made at the very beginning of their relationship. Gilbert pinches Emma’s cheek to make her focus on him again, hard enough for it to hurt.

Gilbert complains that even though she can’t trust him, her true friend, she has no trouble trusting this new person. As her friend, he doesn’t want her to get hurt, instead, he wants to protect her. Emma dutifully thanks him for his feelings. Gilbert warns her to either accept his offer of protection either willingly or forcefully. As Emma looks at Gilbert, he smiles, telling her that he just had a good idea.

Sensing evil, Emma quickly rises from her seat to escape, but Gilbert grabs her wrist and pulls her back down. A cold sigh hits her ear, and Gilbert reminds her that he already told her that she had no option to not do this, especially since he’s going out of his way to do this for his friend. Emma is used enough to this to know that Gilbert is going to do something one way or another, and she needs to tread carefully.

The next day, Emma was planning on visiting her new friend with Rio as her butler. However, when she arrived at her and Rio’s prearranged place, she finds Gilbert there instead. Emma asks if Gilbert has noticed her butler around, and Gilbert assures her he has. Right here in fact.

Not understanding, Emma looks around the area, asking where exactly. Gilbert helpfully points at himself, and Emma feels the blood drain away from her body. Panicking, she asks what happened to Rio. Gilbert is evasive in a way only a murderer can be, before assuring her that he didn’t do anything, Rio is just very busy right now.

Reminding herself that Gilbert doesn’t lie (except when he feels like he can get away with it) Emma is relieved and calms down enough to address the new situation. She tells Gilbert that it would be wrong to have a foreign country’s royalty and guest act as her butler. Gilbert assures her that he’s okay with this. And oh, no! They’re running out of time, she doesn’t want to be late for her new friend’s party, right? When Emma hesitates, Gilbert asks if she wants to be threatened or something.

Which is why Emma is sitting at her new friend, Louise’s party with the evil Prince of Obsidian as her butler.

(Gilbert is a man of many talents, worming his way into tea parties is just one of them)

When they first arrived, Louise’s face lost a lot of it’s color as she looked at Gilbert, but after enough apologies to make Keith proud, she was able to assure Emma that it was fine, they could proceed with the party as normal.

Normally, decorum would have Emma’s butler be unobtrusively out of the way of the party, but neither she nor Louise object when Gilbert joined them at the table and started partaking of the tea and sweets. He tells them not to mind him, he was just here to show off how close he and Emma are as friends.

Louise admits that she hadn’t really believed the rumors of Emma and the Obsidian Prince’s relationship, but-

Emma quickly tells Louise that the rumors are a lie. Gilbert points out that Emma didn’t even hear what rumor Louise was going to mention, and Emma tells them that she just knows that any rumor about her and Gilbert is false.

Louise is willing to bite, if the unmentionable rumors are false, then what is Emma’s and Gilbert’s relationship with each other?

Emma: Victim and Perpetrator

Gilbert: Friends.

Emma: . . .

Gilbert: Best friends.

Placing a ‘friendly’ hand on Emma’s shoulder, Gilbert smiles sweetly at her. Emma grimaces back, but she doesn’t object as she has no doubt ‘friends’ is better than what the rumors paint them as.

Louise politely wishes them luck in their friendly friendship. Emma can see that Louise’s fingers are trembling, and when she holds her teacup the surface of the tea ripples. Emma realizes that, while she herself is still affected by Gilbert’s mere presence, she’s somewhat accustomed to it compared to other people.

Even though Gilbert looks like an affable young man, almost instinctively everyone can tell that he’s a savage beast who has conquered and trampled over many countries. There’s this weird aura about him as if even the most minor of transgressions will set him off. Emma tries to reassure Louise that even though Gilbert is frankly terrifying, he’s not that violent. Really, he’s not as bad as Louise must think.

Gilbert laughs and tells Emma that she’s the only one he’s nice to, though.

Emma quickly changes the subject, telling Louise that she finished the book she recommended. Suddenly, Gilbert is forgotten as the two women start gushing over the male lead in the book, on how he was sweet, kind to all, and not at all scary.

The talk leads to the sequel, which Louise mentions that she has a copy of in her library. She offers to lend it to Emma, who is overjoyed to accept it. She stands up to follow Louise and abruptly remembers Gilbert.

Gilbert assures them that he’s fine, he’ll just keep the pastries company while they continue to fangirl together. Emma is a bit surprised; she had thought he would come with her, but she’s happy enough to leave him behind.

(We can trust Gilbert to keep the pastries safe and sound in his stomach)

Emma never notices the smile hidden by Gilbert’s tea cup.

Louise brings her to the library, explaining that it belongs to her. It was a birthday gift from her father a few years ago. Emma admires it, thinking about how lucky Louise is. She’s a bit worried about her new friend though, even though Gilbert isn’t with them, Louise looks paler than expected. Lingering effects of spending too much time with Gilbert, maybe?

Louise unlocks the library door, beckoning Emma inside. The moment she does, a sweet smell hits Emma, confusing her. It’s not a book or library kind of smell.  She thinks she recognizes it, but . . . but . .

Emma faintly hears Louise behind her apologizing as her vision fades to darkness.

When Emma returns to consciousness some undeterminable time later, she finds Gilbert standing at some distance in front of her. Gilbert politely wishes her a good morning.

Glancing around, Emma sees that they’re in a dimly lit place, full of dust and poor candlelight. As she continues to wake up, she sees that Gilbert is smiling as sweetly as ever. However, there are a lot of bodies lying on the ground around him. Though she can’t see the cobblestone floor beneath her well, she can smell the blood on it.

Emma begins to move, and she realizes that something is restricting her, especially around her neck. A new voice directly behind and above her tells her roughly to not move.

Emma realizes that her hands and feet are shackled, and someone is holding her, with a knife to her throat. From nearby, Louise calls out to her father, and the voice tells Louise to be quiet.

Emma has no memory of what happened since she entered Louise’s library, but she knows enough to tell when she’s being held as a hostage.

In front of her, Gilbert notes that Emma has had enough time to take stock of the situation she’s in and asks if she wants his help.  Emma disagrees, with the way the man behind her is trembling, it’s hard for her to figure out who is the victim and who is the perpetrator in this situation. Emma tells Gilbert to tell her what happened.

Gilbert was just sitting there, enjoying the tea and pastries when Louise came back and asked him to come with her. He very politely followed her to the Earl, who welcomed him with a band of mercenaries. This noble house is part of the anti-monarch faction, an extremist organization that wants to become allies with Obsidian.

They approached Emma hoping to eventually use her as a hostage to ensure his future cooperation. However, they had not expected Gilbert himself to come to their trap, so they decided to move their timetable forward.

And now, unless Gilbert gives in to their demands, they’re going to cut Emma’s throat in front of him. Gilbert laughs, Emma is in a truly pitiful position right now, even he feels bad for her.

Emma feels like she’s drifting. She thought she had finally made a friend. But, in the end, it was all a lie. Louise, who was nearby, did not deny anything Gilbert was saying, hurting more than the knife at Emma’s throat.

She can feel Gilbert’s next words seep into her wounded heart like poison. He reminds her that he’s her only true friend here, and the nobility has different definitions for ‘friends’ than she has. He tells Emma not to worry, when she finally loses all her trust in people, he’ll still care for her.

Tap-tap. Gilbert takes a step closer, his cane tapping on the cobblestones. The knife presses into Emma’s throat and the Earl warns Gilbert to stay back.

Gilbert focuses on the Earl, noting that although he tells this to Emma all the time, the Earl doesn’t know that Gilbert absolutely hates it when others interfere with his prey. The Earl must truly be an idiot if he thought he could hurt Emma to negotiate with him.

Suddenly, Emma feels like she’s about to be crushed by Gilbert’s bloodlust. Even though Gilbert’s expression was still soft and sweet, she can feel his rage and clearly smell the sharp tang of blood. And it’s not even directed at her.

The Earl trembles even more behind Emma, and she can hear Louise start to sob. Emma realizes that when Gilbert offered his help, he wasn’t talking about rescuing her. How naïve she was.

Gilbert asks if they think that he can’t kill anyone here just because they’re in Rhodolite. He tells them that he is great at disposing of evidence. He turns to Emma and asks which one she wants him to kill first.

Sweet End

Emma begs Gilbert not to kill anyone, but she regrets speaking the moment Gilbert’s blood-colored eye focuses on her. He tells her that If he doesn’t kill them, she is still at risk. Or is she saying that she’s willing to risk her life for the people who were planning on using her as a hostage? He laughs at how saint-like she is in her forgiveness, he can’t keep up with her.

Well, he has a point. Emma has been betrayed; what she thought was a burgeoning friendship was instead a very calculated series of manipulations. But she still doesn’t want anyone to get hurt; she had enjoyed the time she had spent with Louise and had even genuinely thought of her as a friend.

Very calmly, Emma shifts her focus to the Earl holding a knife to her throat and asks him to let her go. She warns him that Gilbert isn’t the kind of person who would capitulate just because the other person has a hostage. If the Earl lets her go, she promises to keep Gilbert from killing him.

The Earl tells Emma to shut up, and the knife jerks against her throat, drawing blood. Gilbert asks if she’s okay and Emma snaps back that of course she’s not. He warns her that he’s running out of patience, she is his and only his prey.

Gilbert gives her a sweet, refreshing smile, pulling something out of his pocket. He rolls the item across the floor towards her, and it goes off. A misty smoke emerges from it, completely obscuring the room, blinding Emma to anything more than a couple of inches in front of her face. She feels the Earl suddenly shove her to the side, and just as she braces herself for the expected impact, something soft wrapped in linen breaks her fall.

Due to the shackles still on her hands and feet, she can’t stand up. Emma calls out for Gilbert, but there’s the louder sound of something collapsing to the floor nearby. A chill of a bad premonition strikes through her heart, making her sick.

Emma begins to crawl towards the sound, stopping when she gets to a jet-black cloak. The smoke clears a little, and she can see the Earl crouching at Gilbert’s feet, knife still in hand. Further ahead is Louise, sitting on the floor, with teary eyes.

Gilbert looks back and asks Emma what she’s doing. But he’s not looking at her, instead, he’s looking at a nearby sword on the floor. Emma asks him to stop all of this.

Gilbert asks if, even after everything these people have done to her, Emma still wants to protect them. Emma reminds him that Rhodolite has laws against murder, even in the case of foreign princes. Gilbert considers this, remarking that if he were to invade and conquer, that law wouldn’t be in effect.

Gilbert picks up the sword he was eyeing earlier, kneeling next to Emma. He grabs her chin and turns her face to look directly at him. Emma has misunderstood something crucial. Gilbert has no real reason to listen to her, and besides, she’s wasting her pleas for someone else, when she should be begging him for her own life.

Emma realizes that very recently, she’s been letting her guard down around Gilbert. Because she had some pleasant and kind interactions with him, she had forgotten that he was one of the worst beasts.

Gilbert lets go of Emma and stands, walking towards Louise with a sword still in hand.

Gilbert is a beast, and that’s why Emma won’t give up. Before he could move far, Emma grabs tight onto his cloak. He stops and doesn’t shake her off.

Emma tells Gilbert that Louise is her friend. Gilbert laughs, Emma’s definition of ‘friend’ is really unusual, as this one just tried to sell her to him for political favors. Emma points out that Gilbert’s version of a friend is someone he doesn’t listen to or who’s opinions he doesn’t care about, so he doesn’t have room to complain about other people’s definitions. Gilbert argues that his definition is still less insane than hers.

Emma continues, as Gilbert already knows, no one will ever approach someone who is favored by the evil Obsidian Prince. She can deal with the cold stares, but what she can’t stand is no one talking to her.

Gilbert agrees that she is indeed in a pitiful position, smiling in a way to let her know that he sees this as not his problem.

Emma continues; in spite of everything, Louise still treated her normally. Even if the motives behind the friendship were less than pure, she is the first person in a while to act like she enjoyed spending time with Emma. They shared their common interests and fangirled together over dreamy romance novels. Emma refuses to believe everything was a lie. She has chosen to believe that some of the time she spent with Louise was genuine.

Emma asks Gilbert to not take away her new friend.

The more Emma speaks, the colder Gilbert’s gaze grows. Even though a chill spreads down her spine and Emma’s breath catches, she doesn’t hold back. She clutches Gilbert’s cloak tightly, planning to never let go no matter how hard he tries to pry her off.

Gilbert remarks that rather than being naïve, Emma is now firmly in the ‘idiot’ category. Well, if Emma is going this far to beg him, he’ll listen to her. She is right, if she takes full responsibility for her now former captors, she can save them.

Without hesitating, Emma agrees. Anything would be better than watching Gilbert murder her new friend right in front of her.

Gilbert laughs, after being at the mercy of a third-rate villain, Emma just willingly placed herself into his hands. And he intends to show her the difference between himself and the Earl.

Gilbert carries Emma, who is still wearing shackles, into an empty room. With some odd familiarity, he quickly finds a first-aid kit and begins treating the scratch on her neck, completely silent. He applied the medicine and wrapped the bandages around her wound with the skill of a doctor. Emma thanks him and he tells her not to mention it, his words kind but cold.

Emma still can’t read Gilbert’s face.

Emma holds out her hands and asks him about the shackles. Glibly, Gilbert tells her that unfortunately, he doesn’t have the key to them. Well, if he wanted to, of course, he wouldn’t need the key. Emma hears the implicit ‘can but won’t’ of that statement. Gilbert picks Emma up and settles on a chair, Emma in his lap.

Emma protests, but Gilbert ignores her, his cold fingers running over her cheek. He asks Emma how she intends to beg for her life.

This is a test. IF she gets the wrong answer, she’ll just be back at where they started, so Emma has to think carefully. She asks if he intends to hurt Louise. Gilbert tells her that’s a kind way of putting it.

In that case, whatever he was planning to do to Louise, she’ll accept in Louise’s place. When Gilbert is confused, she explains that she’s substituting herself for Louise.

She has no idea what Gilbert was planning on doing, but this is the only thing she can come up with. Since he knows that she’ll Belle, if he were to come up with terms, it could be detrimental to Rhodolite. That said, she has no idea what will satisfy Gilbert.

Gilbert refuses.

At Emma’s surprise, Gilbert explains that he’s not some sadistic lunatic that enjoys hurting everyone and everything. Emma insists she never said that. It’s just that she can’t come up with anything else.

Gilbert proposes absolute obedience.

Yes, this was what Emma was hoping to avoid. Gilbert explains that this is the price he would demand of Louise to keep her family alive, so it’s natural for that to be transferred to Emma. Every order he gives her, Emma would absolutely have to obey them. Even if it means she would betray Rhodolite.

Emma refuses to betray Rhodolite, and Gilbert shrugs. He’ll just go back down to the cellar and kill Emma’s friend then. Emma shouts at him to stop.

Gilbert complains that Emma is truly selfish. Stroking her cheek as if to tickle her, he lightly pinches it. If they were in Obsidian, this would be considered a major concession on his part. Whether or not he accepts her request, Gilbert is still listening to Emma’s pleas. Can she think of something better than absolute obedience?

Emma considers this; as Gilbert said, she can still make requests. However, she cannot hope for equal negotiation. And, in this place, she has no one that she can ask for help. There is only one thing she can hope for now.

Emma appeals to Gilbert’s conscience, but he warns her that he doesn’t have one. She insists there is; after all, if he didn’t have a sense of morality, he wouldn’t’ have saved her back then and be listening to her now. Instead, he would have just killed everyone in that cellar. The mercenaries in the cellar were all bleeding and unconscious, but she didn’t think they were dead. He may be ruthless, but there was something inside him that would listen to her.

Emma can’t believe in the prince of an enemy country, but maybe she can believe in her friend. And in some weird way, Gilbert might be a friend.

Throwing off all sense of shame, Emma shifts and embraces Gilbert, even with the shackles on. She didn’t hold back at all, trying to transmit warmth into his cold body. She tells Gilbert that he’s always so cold.

Gilbert asks if Emma is joking, and she insists that she’s serious. Gilbert sighs, noting that someone is in trouble now.

Well, this isn’t all that bad. But a hug isn’t enough for him, Emma isn’t losing enough. Gilbert suggests something in addition. As Emma lets go of him and leans back, he touches her lips.

Even if it’s in front of servants, the nobility, or even the princes, she must kiss him no matter the time or place. At Emma’s silence, Gilbert asks her what she plans on doing.

Emma feels her heart pound. They’re not really lovers, and she’s not sure they can be considered friends. But Emma is also certain this is the last chance she has to save her friend. Emma slowly nods, and Gilbert helpfully points at his own mouth.

How about they start now?

Emma leans forward, slowly bringing her face closer to Gilbert.

Suddenly the door slams open, with someone shouting Emma’s name.  

Premium End – Gilbert POV

Everything was rigged against Emma from the start.

*Flashback Time – The Day Before*

Very causally Gilbert asks Silvio to help him in his acts of villainy. Silvio calls Gilbert an idiot and tells him to stop talking in his sleep.

The previous night, when Gilbert visited Silvio’s room, he was treated coldly.

Without any worries, Gilbert joins Silvio on his couch while the latter was sipping rose wine. Gilbert warned Silvio that the merchant inside him would want to hear Gilbert’s proposal. Silvio responded that he only listens to decent people.

Gilbert had a high-risk high-return proposal that Silvio would want to hear. He placed a box he had prepared in advance on the table in front of Silvio. Intrigued, Silvio flipped open the box, and was at a loss for words.

It was a very rare sample of ore, which could only be obtained from a small mine in Obsidian. There was no other mine in the known world that could produce anything so pure as this sample. Silvio shouted at Gilbert; demanding to know if he had just been walking around with that in his pocket?

Gilbert admitted that to him, this was just one stone among many. But he had been assured that someone like Silvio would see the value in it and see a treasure. Silvio’s eyes grew sharp, and he asked what Gilbert wanted. Smiling, Gilbert relaxed against Silvio’s sofa.

Silvio was aware of a dog that is always clinging to Emma, right?

Yes, Silvio is well aware of the shitty dog.

Great! Gilbert would be so happy if tomorrow Silvio found a way to distract the dog and keep him away from Emma.

With an odd expression, Silvio asked if that was all Gilbert wanted. Which it was, since the next day Emma would join her friend’s tea party. The poor girl was looking forward to it so much, to the point that she didn’t even notice she was being used.

No one approaches Emma without seeing the shadow of the Obsidian Prince looming over her. Gilbert had, of course, investigated Emma’s new friend, and discovered that her father was trying to make Obsidian contacts. The upcoming tea party with Emma would be the next step in his plans.

Well, Gilbert was happy to see something interesting, so it wouldn’t be a waste to go with Emma.

Bringing him back to the present, Silvio pointed out that the price of the ore sample alone would be enough to order assassinations on at least 100 VIPs. Seeing his question, Gilbert assured Silvio that he doesn’t intend to outsource his assassinations, he specializes in handling those himself. Silvio is disgusted at how proud Gilbert seems of that fact.

Silvio asked how much money does Gilbert intend to waste just so he can harass that woman. Gilbert intends to never let up on harassing Emma. Silvio asks what Gilbert’s end goal with her is.

(Could it be that Gilbert is just that easy of a mark?)

Gilbert realizes that because he paid so much, Silvio is now suspicious. Silvio points out that Gilbert is actually going out of his way to harass that woman, did she do something to him that is making him hold a grudge against her?

Gilbert complains that Silvio is too cruel and suspicious of him; calling Gilbert’s displays of affection harassment to his face. Besides, if he had a grudge against her, Emma would already be dead.

Again, Silvio asks what Gilbert’s end goal is. Well, Gilbert does have a clear purpose, but he’s not just going to tell Mr. Everything Has a Price. He asks Silvio if he knows Gilbert’s nickname.

The fucking eyepatch, the world calamity, marshal of everlasting victory, the trampling-

Gilbert cuts Silvio off, it was the trampling beast. The ‘fucking eyepatch’ is a new one that he decides to pretend he didn’t hear it.

Moving on, Gilbert has trampled and dominated so many countries that he has garnered the nickname ‘the trampling beast’. And he does not intend to change things just because this is Rhodolite.

Silvio groaned; Gilbert has managed to make him feel sorry for that poor woman. Gilbert laughs, he also feels sorry for her. Silvio shouts at him to not just feel sorry for her himself. Gilbert smiles sweetly at Silvio’s scowl, standing up.

Starting tomorrow, Emma is going to learn not to trust anyone other than Gilbert. He’s looking forward to Emma being betrayed and sold out by her dear friend.

*Flashback End*

So why the hell did it turn out like this?

*Flashback Time*

Gilbert’s plan should have gone smoothly. Emma had been gone for a little while, ostensibly to visit their hostess’ library. Then, the hostess came back alone, her complexion even worse than before. He had almost laughed; the young noblewoman was unable to hide her guilt at all.

When she told him Emma was calling for him, Gilbert had obediently followed the woman to the cellar, acting as if he didn’t have a clue what was in store. Upon their arrival, he had found the Earl holding an unconscious Emma hostage, surrounded by a group of mercenaries. This must have been a rush because rather than looking like proper noble guardsmen, this group looked like thugs from the rough part of town.

Upon seeing them, Gilbert laughed and told the Earl that he had made a mistake. If he wants to deal with Gilbert, he needs to hire at least three times as many men as he has here.

It wasn’t hard to handle them, especially when Gilbert got ahold of a sword.

The Earl was out of his depth, he didn’t even know how to use Emma as a proper hostage. While Emma is still unconscious, Gilbert decides to have a little chat with the Earl and his daughter. He’s looking forward to seeing Emma’s face fall to despair.

Just as he predicted from the start, the young lady used and then abandoned Emma the moment her life was on the line. Everything was going as Gilbert planned.

*Flashback End*

Emma blinks at the intruder, asking Louise what she was doing.

Emma’s lips had been a breath away from Gilbert’s when Louise slammed open the door and rushed inside the room. Gilbert notices that she has taken up his discarded sword and is holding it unsheathed.

Louise begs Gilbert to let go of Emma, and Gilbert wonders if there’s something loose inside her head. He reminds her that she was the one who betrayed Emma to start with, or has she forgotten already? Gilbert is disgusted that Louise is trying to act like a good person right now, when less than an hour ago she had sold out Emma. She is the kind of person Gilbert wants to kill the most, though there are plenty of aristocrats like her.

Louise agrees with Gilbert’s assessment, he was right. Her father ordered her to become close and friendly with Emma. But, in spite of knowing all of that, Emma still called her a friend.

Gilbert has a flashback to someone calling him a friend too. Someone who promised to never leave him alone.

Gilbert feels disgusted as Emma is moved to tears by Louise’s proclamation. Louise tells Emma that she’s sorry for everything, for being selfish. But she doesn’t want to hurt Emma anymore. Turning to Gilbert, Lousie reminds him that it was her and her family who disrespected Gilbert, not Emma. They should bear his punishment.

Okay then, just as he was originally planning Gilbert will-

No! Emma begs him not to hurt Louise. Louise calls out for her to stop protecting her, she’ll be fine. Just leave before Gilbert does something else to her! Emma promises Louise that she’ll live through it, so Louise should be the one to run away. No! Louise will not abandon her again!

(Seriously?)

Here Gilbert was, moments ago, ready to comfort Emma in her sorrow over a friend betraying her. And now, said friend is trying to sacrifice herself to save Emma, completely ruining Gilbert’s careful plans. Everything had gone the way he had calculated it would, up until this point. The woman, a young aristocrat, had betrayed Emma exactly as he had predicted.

Maybe it was Gilbert’s miscalculation. Back at the cellar, maybe he had shown a bit too much bloodlust, and that combined with the beauty of Emma’s heart had moved Louise’s. The existence of ‘Belle’ was more troublesome than Gilbert had anticipated. Gilbert tramples his enemies with malice, but Emma was the opposite.

Instead of corrupting her enemies, Emma purifies them. She and Gilbert are the worst when it comes to compatibility. Perhaps, in this world, Emma is his natural enemy. Even now, both Emma and her friend’s complexions are almost back to normal. While the situation they’re in is terrible, they must honestly believe their lot has improved.

It’s more than a little frustrating for Gilbert. Even now, his anger and murderous intention is gone, fading away like the tide. There’s nothing more for him to do other than admit defeat. He asks Emma if they want to say that she enjoyed the tea party and pretend everything else just didn’t happen.

Emma agrees, her blatant relief making Gilbert’s heart feel complicated.

Later

Gilbert places Emma on top of her bed, noting that she never woke up. She had fallen asleep in the carriage ride as if the greatest villain in the world wasn’t sitting mere feet away from her. Even when he had picked her up and carried her to her room, she never stirred once.

Besides that, Gilbert never got that interrupted kiss.

If Louise hadn’t interrupted them during that promise, he could have had so much fun with Emma.

Pokey-pokey. Gilbert pokes Emma’s lips, considering that he’s an arch-villain with a defenseless baby bunny right in front of him. He lowers his face to hers, before positioning his ear next to her mouth. There’s no point in kissing her now that she’s asleep and unaware, but there might be something to gain if he could figure out what she was dreaming about.

He listens shortly, before concluding that Emma is having a nightmare. He almost laughs, though she likes to pretend during the day that she’s fine, her dreams don’t lie. After all, there was no way the events of today wouldn’t leave a scar on her heart. Even if Emma and Louise have affirmed their eternal and everlasting friendship, the scars of betrayal would never go away.

And still, Emma will continue to believe in the inherent goodness in people, like a true idiot. And she’ll repeat the same mistake, again and again. He wonders how many betrayals Emma will suffer and how many more can she endure.

For some reason, Gilbert is feeling irritated. How confusing.

Emma stirs and begins to wake up, surprised to see Gilbert’s face so close to hers. After blinking at him a few times, her face turns bright red and she pulls the bed sheet over her face, hiding. Laughing, Gilbert asks what Emma was imagining just now, and Emma insists that she was imagining absolutely nothing. Her reactions only make Gilbert want to tease her more. He does feel sorry for her, wondering if anyone can protect her from him.  Gilbert settles down on the bed, lying next to Emma, watching her face reappear with a timid expression.

Emma asks him what he’s doing. Gilbert shrugs vaguely. Emma asks again, and Gilbert giggles. He pokes her lips, laughing. Mentally, he apologizes to Emma, explaining that he’s just in a really bad mood right now.

Emma, who had believed in her friend even after being betrayed, had purified her. She had been hurt badly enough to give her nightmares, but right now Emma was giving no signs of it. Maybe that’s why Gilbert is so upset.

Out loud, Gilbert asks Emma if she wants him to remind her.

Epilogue

What is the biggest threat to Emma? Is it a friend who would betray her, or an aristocrat with malicious intent?

No.

If he were to kidnap and interrogate Rhodolite’s court officials, they would all agree; the biggest threat to Emma is the Prince of Obsidian.

Right now, Emma, who should have been exhausted from being a hostage and the betrayal of her new friend earlier that day, trembled in bed. Not because she was consumed by terror, or even because she was cold. It was because a member of the opposite sex lay next to her.

When Gilbert offers to remind Emma what he has done, she quickly insists that he not. Gilbert bursts out laughing, and Emma leaps out of bed like a startled deer. She asks Gilbert if this is one big joke, and he insists that she has misunderstood him.

It’s a shame that she’ll believe in proven traitors and still won’t trust him even though he hasn’t done anything to her.

Changing the subject, Gilbert asks if Emma intends to change her clothes, now that she’s awake.  

There’s an awkward moment between them, and Gilbert asks if she wants him to leave. Too bad, because he intends to stay right here, where he’s comfortable. In her bed. Emma tells him that she can’t change clothes with him here, but he assures her that he doesn’t mind.

Well, Emma minds.

That’s new to him. Still, Gilbert doesn’t want to return to his room when he feels like this, so instead, he crosses his legs, all while continuing to lie on Emma’s bed.

With an unpleasant expression, Emma looks around the room as if searching for something to say. Eventually, she asks why Gilbert is in a bad mood.

Huh, he didn’t think she would notice. Maybe Emma is sensitive enough to people’s hearts that she could tell even though he was hiding it. Then again, Gilbert isn’t exactly putting much effort into hiding his mood.

Gilbert considers it, and decides that he’s upset because he can’t stop noticing how stupid Emma is. He holds fast to the idea that his prey should not be wounded. That being said, the wounds he intends to cause are fine.

Gilbert had calculated for and anticipated the scars on Emma’s heart and the wound on her neck during this event. However, seeing it in person makes his head fuzzy.

Emma assures him that she’s fine, and Gilbert asks if she’s a masochist who enjoys being hurt. Outraged, Emma asks how he got that from what she said. Oh, but he can tell just by looking at her.

Take today for example; Emma had been so close to sacrificing herself to save her friend. She sacrifices herself, both body and mind, for the sake of others. At this point, Emma knows that she’s Gilbert’s prey, but the moment he takes his eyes off of her, she starts hurting herself.

That’s why he’s in a bad mood.

After today, Gilbert is now convinced that the day will come when Emma will be hurt by someone without his knowledge. Really, she should just sit like docile prey and stay safe until he comes for her.

If he wants to name the reason he’s so upset, then Emma’s kindness upsets him. Even if it’s in his calculations, hurting herself, having nightmares by herself, it all frustrates him.

Emma’s eyes are wide open and she’s staring at Gilbert. Very gently, she tells him that normal people call this emotion ‘worry’. Gilbert is worried about her.

(Gilbert having vulnerable feelings? That's umpossible!)

Gilbert wonders how what he said was so misunderstood. This swirling black feeling in his chest is not worry. In the first place, he was involved in this latest incident that hurt Emma. However, something had gone awry.

The traitor who should have crushed Emma’s hope in other people changed sides at the last moment. Now Emma thinks that she can create miracles and that there’s nothing wrong with trusting others. Not everyone will behave like Emma’s friend did today, and the more she believes, the deeper the wounds of betrayal will sink. And he has no doubt that Emma will choose the path of injuring herself again and again.

Huh, maybe he is a little bit worried, now that he thinks about it. Oh, how disgusting.

Gilbert complains that Emma is going to act like he’s a good person thanks to this strange misunderstanding between them. Emma isn’t convinced that she’s wrong though, at least not this time.

Okay, Gilbert can recognize a declaration of war when he hears it.

Since Gilbert is so nice, he’s going to help Emma change clothes. Emma begins to thank him, but cuts herself off as the words sink in. What?

Ignoring Emma’s increasingly hysterical voice, Gilbert gets off her bed and strides to her wardrobe, rummaging through her clothes. It doesn’t take him long to find what looks like a feminine nightgown.

He’s just a kind-hearted young man who worries and cares about others, right? If that’s the case, Gilbert has no choice but to meet Emma’s expectations. Emma shrieks that she doesn’t need his help changing.

Oh, no, Emma started this, so Gilbert will finish this.

Emma asks where her butler is, he’s the one who’s supposed to be doing all this for her. The helpful young man he is, Gilbert reminds her that for today, he’s her butler. Emma points out that not even Rio helps her take off and put on clothes.

Well, Gilbert is just the better butler then.

He corners Emma, blocking her escape with both hands. By now, Emma should be aware that there is no threat greater to her than Gilbert himself. Since she is so insistent on it, Gilbert offers to let Emma take off her own clothes. Because he’s a nice and caring man.

Emma refuses.

Gilbert tells her that her options are to take off her own clothes or have her clothes taken off her. Emma refuses both options.

Okay, how does Emma want to be undressed then? Reflecting that maybe he’s been a bit too nice to her, Gilbert reaches out to Emma’s top.

He unbuttons it, sliding it down past her shoulders. Suddenly, Emma gets a new idea, and darts forward, pressing her lips to Gilbert’s cheek. Gilbert is so surprised; he stops his own movements.

Why is Emma kissing him now of all times?

Emma points out that he’s the one who wanted her to kiss him. So, now that she has, please forgive her. Gilbert scoffs and reminds her that when he wanted the kiss, he wasn’t pointing at his cheek. Helpfully, he demonstrates by pointing at his lips.

Emma shakes her head ‘no’. She doesn’t think that will happen unless she falls in love with Gilbert, which will absolutely never happen. Gilbert laughs, given Emma’s current state, he wouldn’t say that it’s an absolute impossibility.

It’s nice to be liked, but it would be bad if his intentions were misunderstood. He tells Emma that the only reason he’s protecting her is because she’s his prey, not out of any other silly sentiment. They should just leave it like that between them.

The uncomfortable feeling in his chest never lets up.

[hmshermitcraft]

For theme!

Prim, proper, well mannered that is all the things a future queen needs to be for the grimmlands…something gem absolutely appalls she’s not fit to rule a country heck half the time she just wants to stay in bed for a whole day reading manga or watching cartoons! But nooooo the Royal advisors aka the biggest pricks she’s known since childhood continue to try and turn her into the one thing she isn’t until one day it just breaks her. Now that wouldn’t be an issue normally but when your a wither hybrid who’s mainly ability is to cause death and decay around you at every corner by spreading wither rose bushes and vines you end up having the very messy situation of now there are a lot of injured people around her because said pricks pushed her over the edge.

She ran for weeks and weeks until she collapsed into the hermitcraft server where she was found by Pearl and Tango who took her to Pearls shack where gem woke up to being covered by Tilly and her many many puppies almost not going into panic attack until Tango calmed her down and asked for her name. And after some explaining to Xisuma why there’s a wither hybrid currently sleeping again Pearl’s dire wolf Tilly he made her a hermit because he’s dealt with idiots like that in the past and he knows they aren’t gonna let Gem go that easily so he asked Grian and False to get in contact with Joel and Scott to let them know if somebody from the grimmlands try and come to hermitcraft

For the past few months Gem felt…safe which was a weird feeling since she never really had a proper chance to relax to begin with back home since one slip up meant she could kill a city’s worth of people with her roses but no! Turns out those royal advisors lord to her about the lethality of her roses! She felt so angry and tired and scared that she just wanted to curl into a ball and be left alone forever. Luckily Pearl sat down with her and told her whole Scarlet Pearl fiasco and how she got over it. Granted it involved a lot of murder but still! And Tango told her how he got over feeling betrayed by his family from banishing him from the nether.

Gem felt comforted in a way knowing she wasn’t the only one who was hurt in the past eventually she learned she wasn’t even the most dangerous person on the server. What in hell do you mean Cleo petrified an entire kingdom with a single state?! Wait Grian can do what with his wings?! Safe to say a lot of her fears were gone well…until the Royal advisors came to try and “catch the monster”…well unfortunately for them they now had a very angry Xisuma to deal with.

(Ps love the blog!)

She does feel for her kingdom and her people, but she could never be the queen they wanted of her. Adventure is in her heart, and without the opportunity for that, she escapes through stories instead. She doesn't understand how anyone is supposed to always put on a strong façade. Day in, day out... If she thought too much about it she'd cry.

So, was it any surprise when she finally shattered under the stress and pressure of her role? The cracks had been appearing for a while. The hermits are always happy to remind her of this as well. She was always told to suppress her abilities instead of how to control and manage them, and that's not her fault.

Gem doesn't even hear about the hunt for her until it's already over. She's a little upset - she would've liked to give them a piece of her mind - but she knows Xisuma's right. It wouldn't help, it wouldn't give her the closure she's looking for. All it would do is make her angry. Prove the advisors right.

Pearl and Cleo spend the day with her once she's told, Tilly keeping them company. They braid flowers into each other's hair and they let Gem talk about her favourite books. It's not easy, but the twisted black vines are slowly crawling back down the walls, and Gem breathes a little lighter.